Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: 3DS
Nintendo Download: Zen Pinball 2, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, more
I don’t want to tell Nintendo how to run their business, but maybe “Nintendo Download Day” shouldn’t be on Thursday if the majority of games published by Nintendo are released on Sunday. Just look at the two biggest games in this week’s update: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity. They’re both coming to the 3DS eShop this week (and are technically part of today’s Nintendo Download), but you won’t be able to download either one until Sunday, March 24.
If bustin’ ghosts as Mario’s kid brother or exploring dungeons as your favorite Pokemon doesn’t thrill you, there is a new game you can download today: Zen Studios’ Zen Pinball 2. It’s now available on the Wii U eShop along with most of the previously released DLC tables including Marvel Pinball and Plants vs Zombies table.
More information on these new releases, as well as a trio of additional games that will be available today, is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U
Tagged Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, Zen Pinball 2
Kickstart This! The Post-Veronica Mars Edition
Kickstarter has been receiving a lot of attention in the press this week, mostly due to cult TV show Veronica Mars. Rob Thomas’ 24-hour success story (currently sitting at 175% funded) has been perceived by some as a wake-up call to the film industry, and by others as the end of Kickstarter’s indie innocence. The latter group highlighted the fact that Warner Bros. still owns the rights to the franchise, and that the multi-million dollar company will reap the benefits of the charitable donation of others. Those who have donated will have unprecedented access to information on the film during production, and fans donating over $35 will receive a digital copy of the film. While my own opinion on the positives and negatives of this project fluctuate, there was one detail that seemed very worrying. All of the reward levels come with a disclaimer saying “AVAILABLE TO US AND CANADA (NEW!) BACKERS ONLY.”
Thomas does acknowledge the fact, saying “there are hoops to jump through” in order to include other territories. It could be this is inherent in the dangers of crowdfunding a project where the rights are held by an entity whose aims are not wholly aligned with the spirit of Kickstarter. We have seen this in the past with rewards that required attendance to an event, but even then, people were still allowed to donate, and had the option to travel. For a show that aired globally, this seems like a worrying, xenophobic trend, one that I hope does not translate to other industries.
In light of this, I thought this month I would focus more on smaller indie projects, including classic side-scrolling action-adventure Shovel Knight, euphoric exploration game SoundSelf, first-person survival horror Pulse, retro pixel-art adventure Bik, surfing sim Kahuna Surfer, and last but not least, sci-fi RPG Reflux: The New World. (more…)
Shovel Knight confirmed for Wii U, 3DS
With the help of Kickstarter, the group at Yacht Club Games has announced they’ll officially be able to bring Shovel Knight to the Wii U and 3DS. The game had been previously only been announced for Windows PC with the Nintendo versions coming later if all went well. Now, all three versions of the classic 8-bit action-adventure game will be released in September 2013 (UPDATE: Yacht Club has commented on their Kickstarter page that the Wii U/3DS versions might lag slightly behind the PC release).
To receive a copy of the game on the Wii U or 3DS one must pledge $15 or more, while those seeking the PC version only have to pledge $10. Over $39,000 has been pledged at the time of this writing, and Yacht Club Games still has 25 more days to reach their goal of $75,000. So, if you’re looking for a great opportunity to help out an awesome indie company, pledge today!
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight
Disney Infinity pushed back to August
Disney Infinity, the media company’s take on the lucrative toy/game combo first made famous by Skylanders, will miss it’s planned June release date. Instead, the game will be released for the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on August 18. According to John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive, the delay was actually made at the request of retailers who hoped to see Disney Infinity in stores closer to the holiday shopping season.
Pleasants also said, “We could deliver in June if we wanted to. Will a two-month timing change help us? Sure, of course. It gives us a little more time to add bells and whistles and make sure it really sings and pops.”
Disney Interactive is a big company and they can do what they want, but this has to be the worst reason for a game delay ever. And they announced it publicly! I just can’t believe it.
[Source: The New York Times]
New Releases: Lego City Undercover, GoW: Judgment, Walking Dead FPS, More
Another week, another highly anticipated prequel. Gears of War: Judgment will be available this week, exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Sidestepping to a shooter of a different kind is The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct. This other game based on The Walking Dead used the television show for inspiration and stars the crossbow-wielding fan favorite, Daryl Dixon. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be released for the PC (download-only), PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U.
Speaking of the Wii U, this is actually a big week for new releases on Nintendo consoles as Lego City Undercover and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will soon be available for the Wii U. The 3DS will receive a pair of big new releases in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, as well as a portable version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
More new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D to launch May 24… so here’s a gorilla holding a 3DS
Nintendo is proud to announce that Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D will be released for the 3DS on May 24.
To pad out the press release, the publisher included this picture of a gorilla holding a 3DS. Um… enjoy?
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Donkey Kong Country Returns
New Releases: GOW: Ascension, SC2: Heart of the Swarm, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2, More
A pair of dueling sequels highlight this week’s new releases.
Kratos returns in a God of War prequel that brings multiplayer to the series for the first time. God of War: Ascension is available as a standalone game and also as part of a new PS3 system bundle that include Ascension and the previously released God of War Saga. Also new on store shelves this week is StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, the first expansion in the StarCraft II trilogy saga.
And speaking of sequels, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is also available this week for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. And speaking of snipers, Sniper Elite V2 comes to the PC this week, almost a year after first appearing on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Finally, the 3DS will receive another Monster High game thanks to Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged God of War: Ascension, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
Nintendo Download: Kersploosh!, Wrecking Crew, RE Mercenaries 3D, more
Welcome to another week of Nintendo downloads. Leading off this week is the awesomely titled Kersploosh! Nintendo’s “throwing stuff down a well” sim is available to download now from the 3DS eShop. And for you Pokemon fans out there, a demo of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is now available as well.
Four additional games have been added to the 3DS eShop today including Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, a multiplayer arena fighter; 3D; ATV Wild Ride 3D, an offroad racer; Wrecking Crew, the NES classic; and Nano Assault EX, a space shooter.
Finally, a new NeoGeo game will be available on the Wii Shop Channel’s Virtual Console today: The King of Fighters ’98.
You can find more information on all of these titles after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii
Tagged Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D